Let it Burn
by Arkevil
Summary: And we let the fire consume us. ErenxAnnie - Ongoing - Rewrite In-Progress - Warnings: Language & Sexual-Content
1. Breathe

**A/N: **Welcome to the massive rewrite of Let it Burn. Chapters are now longer with more content, entirely re-visioned content, more character interaction aside from Annie and Eren, and much much more! I hope you enjoy! The rewrite will massively help make a smooth transition into my plot. Finally, I'm implimenting a manga SPOILER ALERT. If you don't keep up to date with the manga...you will get spoiled on certain things.

**A/N2:**

"words" = talking

'_words_' = thoughts

_italics_ = speech inflections and commentary diversions.

**DISCLAIMER: **Properties of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan belong to its respectful owner. I take no credit in the creation of the this godly universe.v

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**Chapter 1: Breathe  
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Eren wipes some of the dripping sweat off his brow, breathing deeply to replenish much needed oxygen and energy. He looks up at her from his place on the hard ground, trying to discern how Annie does what she does.

"You know...you won't learn this stuff by sitting around." Annie stands above him with a hand on her hip. The light summer breeze toys with her golden strands, tossing them lightly about her cheeks. The sun above them burns hotly, drawing small beads of sweat from her hairline. Green pools follow the beads as they venture down past the cloth of her hood. Her eyes are as cold as ice even during the hottest of days.

"Well some of us are human." He snaps unintentionally. She fixes him with a frozen glare.

"You have enough energy to complain - now get up and lets go again." Her dulcet tone is sharp with an edge of finality.

Eren knows better than to argue with her.

"Right...sorry," he sighs as he returns to full height.

"It's fine...just be ready." She raises her fists and adjusts the angle of her hips - assuming her signature stance. Eren falls into his own form - a clear homage to his mentor. She nods, signally the start of their fight. Her muscles relax into battle-ready lucidity.

In a heartbeat, Annie is upon him. A fast left hook aimed at Eren's face distracts him enough for her to collide their shins with a resounding crack. Eren grits his teeth at the sharp bolts of fire shooting up his leg as he dodges the punch. Annie's face remains inexpressive. He grabs her extended wrist in an attempt to perform a reversal throw she taught him last week. Her eyes flash as her mind is already two steps ahead of him. Using the momentum of his pull, she works her free arm up to his right shoulder - gripping tightly. A speedy knee to the gut sends jars of acute pain through his torso. The air is knocked out of Eren's lungs.

In a split desperate second, he takes hold of her knee and pushes back, knocking her back a step. Eren sees the opportunity and lunges forward with his arms extended towards her - a last ditch effort to overcome her.

She moves lively with reflexive finesse. A hard elbow is delivered forcefully to the joint of his left shoulder. An unsettling _pop_ forces him to yelp. Eren's vision flashes bright hues.

He topples over to the ground holding his left shoulder. "CHRIST...FUCK ANNIE!" He clenches his jaw tight, fighting back against the welling tears of excruciating pain.

"you didn't say you would f-fucking b-break my fucking arm!" he exclaims through clenched teeth. She kneels down next to him - studying him for a few seconds.

"I didn't say I wouldn't."

Eren directs his glare to the ground - upset with Annie, upset that he's in this much pain, upset with himself for failing once again.

Softly calloused hands - skin hardened from labor - remove his taut grip from his injured shoulder and out of the way. He intakes shallow puffs of air as she gently prods around the gradually swelling joint. It feels like needles dragging across and digging in an out of his skin.

"I'm going to have to reset your shoulder - I to need you to sit up." Eren groans as undertakes the task of elevating his upper body to sit up as requested.

_"Eren?!" _A pair of sturdy hands support him as his equilibrium is thrown off from blunt torment of pain.

"What the _hell_ happened!"Mikasa hisses accusingly at Annie. Intrusive onyx irises bear threateningly into crystal cyan. Acute tension permeates the atmosphere around them.

Annie regards Mikasa with her character defining scowl. Annie's lips rouse to retort, but Eren interjects.

"I-it was an accident Mikasa, don't b-blame Annie." His breathing evolves to short pants as the sharp sparks begins to settle in as a dull throbbing.

Mikasa's scrutinizing gaze directs blades deep at the steel exterior of her rival. "_tch_...I'm taking you to the infirmary." She acts to guide Eren to a standing, but ceases abruptly when he cries out from the lances of fire torching his left side.

"The longer his shoulder remains like that...the longer it will take for him to recover." Annie's voice is low and steady.

Eren perceives himself being slowly lowered back to the ground.

Mikasa isn't stupid. She resists to the idea of agreeing with Annie, but the emergency of the situation reasons with her rationale.

"_Fine_. But your _little_ training sessions are over after this." She hisses darkly towards the blonde.

Annie says nothing as she wraps her fingers firmly around Eren's bicep. Another palm comes up to his clavicle to provide her with the leverage she needs to repair the joint. Mikasa hold him still. Eren winces as her fingers dig sharply into the his ribs.

"How did you and Mikasa meet?" Annie whispers to him suddenly. Her eyes are elsewhere and he detects Mikasa's form stiffen behind him.

"What?! What's that got to do anything?" He grinds out. His teethe grate together as his jaw tightens.

"...just tell me." She mumbles under her breath...still looking away from them.

He remembers. The cabin...the blood...the red- -CRACK_!_

Skull-splitting pain explodes from his shoulder...forcing a roar of agony from him as Annie slides his shoulder back into it's socket. The muscles in his body turn slack against Mikasa as darkness closes in on his peripheral.

"_Eren!_"

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Eren's eyes blink open to a dark room lit only by a small flickering candle sitting on the cedar side-table. Memories of earlier that day flood his thoughts - breakfast with Reiner and Armin, laps with Connie and Sasha, hand-to-hand with Annie.

_'...Annie'_

He gasps softly as he sits up - a throb of pain radiates from his bound shoulder. The thin sheet bunches at his waist, revealing the thick bounds securing his bruised shoulder. Slight goosebumps form on his arms and chest when exposed to the frigid night air. He looks around. The room is dark and quiet.

"you shouldn't move too much..." a voice from the shadows startles him.

"Annie..." he exhales.

She moves out from the shadows and into the warm light. Her usual outfit is replaced by her simple nightwear - and short sleeved shirt and simple grey pants. Eren subconsciously notes how the light from the candle plays with her defined features, making her skin look as though its glowing. Her golden tresses are dimmed in the darkness - giving them a bluish hue.

It is now that Eren notices how small she really.

This is not the Annie he faces on the field day after day. That Annie is inhuman. This Annie is something different entirely.

He is so absorbed in finding the differences between "_that Annie_" and "_this Annie_" that he _nearly_ doesn't notice her begin to speak.

"I meant to come when you were still asleep, but your sister kept you under lock and key..." she moves just an inch closer. "I came to...apologize" - she glances briefly at his shoulder - "for that. I got carried away and it never should have happened.

Despite her solemn attitude, Eren can't help but grin.

"What? What's with that face." She looks at him questioningly.

His grin widens "Oh its nothing...I'm just beginning to think that you care whether I get hurt or not." he teases. Annie's expression falls blank.

"Not in the slightest" she deadpans.

He can hear the lie plain as day and it warms him moderately - he doesn't oppose the chuckle that finds it's way out of his chest. Annie fails horribly at hiding the faint smile the twists her usual stony idiosyncrasy.

_This boy has been making her smile frequently as of late._

"Hey Annie - why did you ask about Mikasa and I...back then I mean?" he asks.

"I needed to distract you." - she paused briefly - "Treating a dislocated limb is painful. You would have tensed up and you would be worse off right now."

"_Tch_...I wouldn't have tensed up..." he mumbles. "But thanks - I guess..."

He studies her mien as the subtle, fair smile is replaced by a frown.

Eren feels the bed cave as she takes a seat at his side - the warmth of her body makes him _very_ aware of their proximity. "Annie?"

"Are you okay?"

Her shoulders sag and brows knit as she looks away from him. "...aren't I suppose to be the one asking _you_ that?"

He grips her forearm strongly with his uninjured hand, forcing her to look back at him. She stiffens at the contact and a jolt of electricity is sent up Eren's arm. The pads of his fingers become numb. "Annie"

"I've had a lot of...things...on my mind. It's nothing, Eren..." Her voice is hoarse.

Eren snorts. "Well it sure doesn't feel as though that's the case Annie."

She says nothing.

Frustration brims within him. "You are the most difficult girl I've ever met!" He growls as he moves to sit up - the pain from his shoulder returns in small doses. Annie leans her upper body away, trying to make a little more space between them.

_Too Close_

He can feel the heat radiating off of her. He pulls the heat closer. The air surrounding them is thick with something he can't quite put his finger on.

He tries once more. "Talk to me...Annie..."

Suddenly, his head hits the pillow and his gasp of surprise is stifled by the sudden weight of another pair of soft lips pressing onto his. A delicate hand presses into the cot beside his head - pinning him in place. The other hand tangles roughly into his dark locks and his eyes screw shut.

Eren forgets how to breathe.

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_To Be Continued..._


	2. Catalyst

**A/N: **Weeeeeeeeee! This chapter had quite a bit of changes - MORE ANGST. Also, there is the change of the chapter title which I believe is the overall theme for this chapter. Have to thank Euregatto for the idea for use periods to provide separations. Speaking of Eure...if you enjoy smut of the Ereannie kind...you absolutly MUST read Eure's "At Dawn We Burn" - molten brilliance-. Lastly, I need to clearify this in order to make this fiction legal. All character ages have been upped appropriated. (anyone who is 15 in canon (Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, ect) are all 18 - anyone who is 16 in canon (Annie, Sasha, Marco) are 19 - anyone who are 17 in canon (Reiner, Bertholdt, Ymir) are all 20 - characters like Levi and Hanji remain their canon age.)

**WARNING: Fluffy with a big helping of Angst.  
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**DISCLAIMER: **Properties of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan belong to its respectful owner. I take no credit in the creation of the this godly universe.

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**Chapter 2 - Catalyst**

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Annie doesn't know what came over her.

She was _suppose_ to sneak in, apologize halfheartedly, and then book it before she got caught by anyone. She didn't plan for sensation of his soft lips against hers. The sensation dissolves her rationality and fractures walls that she spent many years constructing.

She wishes he would do something...kiss her back, push her away...anything.

Annie can feel his pounding heartbeat against her own as she presses him firmly back into the pillow. The pristine sheets threaten to tear as she twists them in her fist - finding something to ground her before she floats away. Her other hand tangles into the locks at the nape of his neck - pulling him up to meet her. The buzzing in Annie's head is making it difficult for her to focus on anything other than _him_. Her tongue prods for entry into the searing heat of Eren's mouth. Her finger tangle further into his hair as he hesitatingly opens his jaw.

With the parting of his lips, Eren finally meets her. Tongues and teeth clash. The kiss is very interchangeable with way they spar on the field - fast, unrestrained, and relentless. The smouldering embers burst in broiling intensity through their thrumming bodies. Eren releases a soft groan into her mouth which she greedily steals from him. Her tongue explores his mouth - tasting and taking. The hand that was clenching the sheets moves to the angles of his jawline, touching and massaging it gently with her fingertips.

Eren's uninjured hand slides up Annie's back, pulling her chest against his. An almost inaudible hum reverberates through his chest and she melts against him.

The need for oxygen becomes an imperative.

Reluctantly they break away...both heaving as though they've sprinted a hundred miles. Lips are swollen, pupils are dilated, auburn and golden strands in a state of disarray. This is the image that they both burn into the back of their minds.

"A-Annie...w-wait-" the look in his darkened eyes brings her back down to earth. She backs away quickly as if burned. Her hands clap to her mouth in shock and her azure eyes are wide.

"Eren...I-I'm so sorry...I-I-" Eren interrupts her - _unwilling to let this end so quickly_ - by grasping the collar of her shirt and pulling her back down to him. When their lips meet again...it is an instant explosion of searing heat. They move synchronized with fervor. The taste, the sultriness, the absolute flood of thirsty desire overwhelms them - provoking erratic drum beats beneath their breast bones. His swollen lips leave hers - scorching a fiery trail of open mouth kisses down her jaw line and towards the column of her neck. Low whimpers escape Annie as his lips pass over an area of over sensitized flesh. Tiny blazes manifest under the tender touch of his fingertips as they slide under the hem of her shirt, grazing the concave line of her spine. Annie's hands - which had been wandering freely along his chest up until this point - fly up to his hair once more...doing anything to giver herself a semblance of control.

She gasps hotly in his ear when he hits a particularly sensitive area near her racing pulse.

Annie can't help but wonder how he knows what to do or if he is just acting on instinct, but when Eren starts using his teeth against the skin of her neck, she finds that she doesn't give a damn. The warmth building at the apex of her thighs is making it difficult to hold on.

"E-Eren!" his name is torn from her lips in a breathy whine as he sucks harshly on her collarbone. Her blunt nails dig into his scalp - pressing his devilish lips to her. He groans into her neck when her mouth close around the lobe of his ear - suckling eagerly. Her hitched puffs of air in his ear send potent bolts of hotness to the swelling hardness between his legs. The hand under her shirt bravely begins to journey up her shaking back - crushing her to him. His mouth travels back up her neck, planting wet kisses along the way. He feels Annie tremble as their lips meet again - tangling once more in the familiarized wanton tango.

Millions of thoughts rush through Annie's mind - each of them liquidated before she can truly grasp them in cognizance. The only thought that makes it through the melted puddle of her mind is the single one that she wishes she never considered.

'_This has to stop._'

She knows they can't do _this_. It will only end in pain.

Annie brings them back from the deep to the shallow. Her hands retreat from his messy hair and press down on his sternum - keeping him pressed to the mattress as she pulls away entirely.

"Annie?" his huskily calls to her. His lusty half-lidded eyes search for hers in question.

She can't look at him.

"Eren..._we_ can't do this." Annie barely recognizes her own voice.

"W-what - what do you mean?" he croaks - blinking in disbelief. The extra weight on the small cot is lifted when Annie stands up - still looking away from him. She hopes he doesn't notice that her legs and hands are shaking. Her head droops slightly - allowing her hair to shield her from him.

"It was a mistake that shouldn't have happened."

Each word from her drips liquid ice into Eren's internal inferno - snuffing it out to cold embers. The medical cot groans disapprovingly when he swings his legs over the side and sits up. His unbound hand clings to the dressed wound on his shoulder when it begins to throb with acute pain.

"You have a shitty sense of humor Annie...you can't-" he pauses as he looks down at his lap, unable to look at the back of the woman who had just taken more than his first kiss - "you can't say those things_...you_ kissed me!" the edge of anger slip through unintentionally. This woman confuses him.

"I know...Eren. Just forget it. _All_ of it." She moves to walk away but is stopped by the tight hold of his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She gives him what he wants and finally looks back at him. It is the hardest thing - to remove any suggestion of remorse from her countenance when the look of angry desperation stares right back at her through deep jades.

___When had she let herself fall? __When did Eren's naive touch turn into the catalyst that set fire to her gelid self? This - whatever this is, was, or could have been - without a shadow of a doubt must end. Her mission - her obligations will not exonerate.  
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"Let me go." she warns. The double meaning is crystal clear.

Eren is solidified - frozen in confusion, longing, anger, despair, and a thousand other nameless feelings. One second, everything was good - _amazing..._and now...that moment of sparse tranquility is being torn away and trampled on by _this_ woman. Any thought to say something - _anything_ to keep her there remains a mere thought.

_The world is cruel. _

She rips her arm away from him and briskly leaves the infirmary - his eyes glued to her retreating back. The door shuts with a loud click - leaving him alone in the dimly lit cabin. His body begins to shake.

His chest pulses painfully. _Who knew something like this would hurt so fucking much?_

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_'Weak - So fucking weak.' _

Kissing him wasn't her first mistake. She should never have offered to teach him. She should never have spoke to him in the first place.

Everything had been going as planned...then she went and fucked it up - Eren _fucked_ it up. He just _had_ to worm his way under her skin and burrow passed her mask that the rest of the world sees. _He_ made her smile. _He_ made her laugh. _He_ made her heart skip a beat. _He_ is the catalyst for every-fucking-thing that is going wrong. And _that_ is why she can't allow - _whatever that was_ - to continue on.

Whilst in thought - the trek to the girl's cabin is much faster than normal. Her thought's of Eren cease as she takes in her surroundings. As expected, no one is roaming about in the night - for which she is grateful. The camp lights had been extinguished not too long ago - the signal for curfew. Annie had left to visit him shortly after dinner - after Mikasa finally left the infirmary.

Her current scowl amplifies at the memory of feeling _that beast's_ emotionless eyes brand a target on the back of her head. Mikasa is stirring something dangerous between them. When the thin line snaps - Annie knows that neither of them will emerge with clean hands. _Not that she has clean hands to begin with._

The cabin door is an arm's reach away and her mask is back - rendering the world her enemy once more. No matter who comes to resent her - _even him_ - she has a promise to keep. A promise that she is determined with her entirety to keep.

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(CAMP HQ, Keith Shadis's Office)

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"Are you certain this is correct?"

"Yes sir. We reviewed all of the trainees' medical records and backgrounds - _these_ cadets show strange...abnormalities."

"Who else is aware of this?" his asks gruffly.

"Just you and me sir..."

The pile of papers on his desk are yellowed with age. The photos are faded and cracked. Keith knows these kids. He has spent the past three years playing the part as ferryman - pushing them to the status of soldier and adult. These kids look nothing like the old photos anymore. _Has it really been that long?_

"Sir...what do you want to do..."

Keith takes a moment to gather his thoughts. He brings the tin flask to his thin lips and takes a long swig of the contents within - the fire burns his throat pleasantly.

"Get in touch with Commander Erwin of the Recon Corp - have him summoned here. Until then...we only observe."

"Understood sir."

"Good. Dismissed." The auxiliary salutes and turns on his heels.

_Keith had never felt this old._

"One more thing -" Kieth pauses -" _this_ doesn't leave this room."

"Yes sir."

Another moment and the man is gone, leaving the Sergeant alone.

Kieth Shadis knows that the enemy is on the move.

He takes another filling swig of the sinful concoction.

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_To Be Continued...**  
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**POSTNote: **_Not entirely happy with this chapter but I'm ready to move on. _


	3. Philosophical Deliberations

**A/N:) **I sincerely apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I blame Euregatto, PrimaMalum, and Ponderess for distracting me. Blame also falls to schoolwork but I digress. Anyways...hope you enjoy!

**Warnings: **_Angsty Angst**  
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**Disclaimer: **_Properties of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan belong to it's respectful owner. I only take ownership of this excuse to get my OTPs to do da funk. _

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**Chapter 3 - Philosophical Deliberations**

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_"Jaeger - What the fuck do you think you are doing?!"_ Sergeant Shadis's booming voice echos through the woods - all motion stops on a dime. The whining of his wire ceases abruptly as he comes to a halt in mid-air - dangling high in the canopy staring down in bewilderment at the source of the shout.

_"Get the fuck down here - Now!"_ Wordlessly, Eren reels down to where the angry Sergeant stands, the wires of his gear roll back into their designated holsters. His sharp blades are sheathed as he empties his hands to perform the company salute. Standing still - he readies himself for the incoming shower of insults and spittle.

_"Drop the fucking salute Jaeger...coming from you that is an insult to my military."_ Shadis declares rancorously. He looks up into the trees towards the group of trainees that had congregated to watch the show unfold. _"And to think you bunch are the hands that humanity's fate has fallen into?! Get your collective fat asses moving!"_ There is a sudden burst of screeching wires as the trainees shoot off, causing Eren to jump. Shadis's rage filled glare returns to him.

"You damn well just about cost me two trainees - that useless shit Kirschstein and your fucking useless self ." Viridescent eyes widen in horror - darting to the darkened shadows of Kieth's eyes.

"W-What do you mean?!" his baritone wavers as the irate instructor takes a step forward.

"Why do you think I've been making sure everyone calls out their position?" Not waiting for Eren's nonexistent answer, Shadis continues, "To prevent what you were about to do from fucking happening - having a fucking mid-air collision! What is your endgame Jaeger?!"

"S-Sorry sir! I wasn't - " Shadis cuts him off - excuses have no meaning to him. "Sorry my bald ass! Get your suicidal ass out of my woods and to the supply shed. I want to eat my fucking dinner off that floor tomorrow! Understood?!"

"Y-yes Sir!"

"Dismissed."

Eren salutes once more at the back of his instructor - old habits.

_'Sorry kid, its for your own good.'_ The Sergeant has been watching the young cadet for a couple weeks now. The kid is practically a zombie now - a shadow of the fierce boy he met three years ago. Kieth suspects the reason for the drastic change in such a short amount of time - a certain blonde lone-wolf perhaps.

The time alone will do the kid some good.

_"Springer! What the fuck are you doing?! Start over! I'm throwing you out if you don't fucking get it right this time!"_

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Annie's training team had opted to settle down for a half-hour breather on the shore of a small inlet. Thomas, Reiner, and Armin are playfully rough-housing in the damp sod where the gentle waves of the pellucid lake crest. Their laughter is contagious to the rest of her squad who had gathered just in time to see Reiner take a face-full of muddy earth composite. The lone-wolf remains a good distance away - up against the treeline - assuring her security from their viral idiocy.

She studies the edge of one of her blades - chipped and dulled from the day's practice. It really is stupid how they mindlessly dull blade after blade - none of them ever being used for their intended purpose. That day will come soon though.

"What are you doing over here in the shade all by yourself? Come out in the sun with the rest of us!" While in her musings, Annie had failed to notice Mina Carolina detach from the rest of the team and bravely approach her.

"I'd rather not." Annie responds dully.

"Aww come on! Don't be a sour puss!" Mina puts her hands on her hips and forms her lips into a pout - much like how a child would act when denied a cookie before dinner.

"No." Annie doesn't understand how these _people_ just can't take a hint.

"_Ugh_ fine. I will join you then!" She throws her hands up in feign frustration at the stalemate before plopping herself down at the side of her brooding bunk-mate - much to the displeasure of Annie. An awkward silence falls between them. It is about three minutes before Mina breaks the uncomfortable silence.

"You've been _different_ lately...what happened?" She asks as though she is treading on thin ice _- 'very accurate_.'

"That is none of your business"

"It has to do with Eren..doesn't it?"

"Mina..." Annie's voice is a red-flag - an advisory that the thin ice beneath the other girl's feet is slowly getting thinner.

"Look, I know it's not my business but _please_, hear me out." Mina pauses before taking a cautionary breath - "I've noticed...I saw they way you were when you were around him. You were...less severe and more lively. You _even_ said hello to me on a few occasions! Coincidentally, the day you two stopped hanging around each other was the day you stopped saying hello. I can tell Annie...that you are sad." - she pauses once more, searching for a hint of response to her words on Annie's stony face. _'This girl is difficult...'_ she thinks.

"I'm not going to ask what happened between you two - but I will ask why you force yourself to suffer - for what purpose?"

_There is more to Mina than what she had originally thought._ The only answer Annie has is one she cannot give, so she remains speechless - internally stunned at the girl's acute observations. _Had she really been that obvious?_

Mina sighs - digging her fingers into the soft dirt at her side. "If you're not going to answer me...at least say you'll think about talking to him. I liked it when you said hello to me. I wouldn't mind hearing it again..." Mina says sincerely. Annie's cobalt eyes drift the the girl at her side - widened in surprise at the girl's admission.

_"Mina..."_

_"Oi! We need to get moving...there's a storm moving in!"_ Ymir's firm voice rouses them from their conversation. They had barely registered the oncoming bite of the lapping wind on their clothes and the rumble of thunder in the distance.

_"We're coming!"_

"C'mon Annie - wouldn't want the rain to ruin that complexion of yours!"

As silent as ever, Annie rises to her feet and brushes of the dirt from her uniform before following her team back to camp. She could feel the droplets of cold water hit her when they are about half-way there. The boys cheerfully hold a contest to see who can remain the driest by the time they get back - putting their desserts up as bets.

Annie never particularly liked the rain.

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The rain is soaking her thoroughly at this point - weighing down the heavy fabric of her favorite hoodie and jacket, making it seem as though the clothing weigh thrice a tenfold of what they actually are . Her platinum locks are plastered to her face and the squelching of her boots irritate her as she trudges through rain saturated earth towards the warm, dry refuge of the girl's bunkhouse. The leather straps wrapped around her body are swollen and waterlogged - making them seem tighter than usual.

Annie is thankful that the cabin is vacant for the most part - save for the female members of her squad who were the last ones to return from training, and a handful of others who hadn't wandered to the dinner hall just yet. She almost lets out an audible sigh in relief when the burden of wet leather and cold soggy boots are removed from her shivering body - but remembers that she is not alone.

She changes into her warm civilian clothes quickly - draping her soaked training uniform on the ligneous post of her and Mina's bunk to drip dry through the night. Changing clothes is a pointless action, she thinks after the fact. The storm isn't easing up any time soon and the certainty of her having to venture back into the gloomy downpour is very tangible. Annie's mattress faintly groans as the she sits down to lace up her boots.

"Hey Annie, " Mina calls from across the cabin - her dainty figure leans against the wooden post of the blonde's bunk when she nears, "did you think about what we talked about earlier?"

A moment passes - Annie's busy fingers pause as she nods towards her bunk-mate in affirmation. The obsidian-haired girl hushes her voice to a whisper - curious considering the emptiness of the cabin - but Annie is none-the-less grateful for her attentiveness. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing." Annie mumbles under her breath - her fingers continuing their dismal task. "In another world, maybe I would - no - it's pointless to mull over it."

_'Mina c'mon! Lets Go! I'm Starving!'_

Sasha's soprano holler from the just outside the doorway draws their attention. _"Sorry! Just a sec!"_ Mina responds before taking heed of the ever brooding enigma once more.

Her voice is just above a whisper as she speaks. "You know...I heard from Jean earlier that Eren was given the chore of cleaning the supply shed - no one has seen him since so he's probably still there..." Annie regards her friend - brow cynically quirked at the suggestive statement.

"What? Don't give me that look. I just meant it would be a good chance to talk to him - alone."

_'Mina! I swear if you don't come right now I'm going to eat everything on your plate!'_

_"Coming!"_

With a quick 'do it or regret it' look from navy eyes, Mina leaves without another word, obeying the insistent calls from the famished Sasha.

The barrack is completely void of internal noise once Mina and the rest of the girls are gone. The gentle lullaby of the constant pitter-patter from the storm outside is giving Annie a headache.

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Eren lost sense of time a few hours ago - before the storm had settled in at full ardor. He vaguely registered the dinner bell chiming through the grounds accompanied by the revelatory laughter and woots as his friends happily readied themselves for the incoming meal. That was about ten minutes ago.

Its been a long while since he had felt this miserable - comparable to his first grueling days of training. The small shed is stifling and claustrophobic, causing the galling duty to become further maddening. He wipes at the briny sweat gathering at his collarbone with the damp fabric of his shirt before vigorously scrubbing at the slowly rusting gas tank. No matter how much or how long he works at it, the shed's state of disarray does not seem to diminish.

_'God Dammit! This is a fucking joke!'_

He is so tempted to give up and join his comrades, but the wrath of Shadis isn't something he wants to deal with again in the near future. Eren's stomach growls and clenches painfully. How long has it been since he last ate? Had to have been at least a day. Ever since he was discharged from the infirmary, he has simply forgotten how to function as a normal human being. His sleeping habits became irregular - laying wide awake in bed listening to Reiner's detestable snores until the morning horn roused the camp. Eating became even more of a chore than the mandatory seven mile run in the morning mist. In short - Eren is a walking calamity.

The sudden flood of ambient light preceded by the opening creak of the wooden door captures Eren's attention - a humanoid silhouette enters the shed before closing the door behind it. He catches a glimpse the shock of platinum strands and powder blue irises peering with purpose at him.

_'Its Her' _

"A-Annie...what are you doing here?" His voice shook with unexpected malaise. Its been weeks since he has last been privileged with being this close to her - ever since the night that was burned into the back of his mind - a never fading specter.

She moves into dim the light of the shed's only window - the gloomy light cast from outside desaturates her, making her appear to be a figment of Eren's imagination.

"I was taking an evening stroll in the charming weather and decided to pop in." Annie quips as she leans against the wall, folding her arms at her chest - her temple rests on the cool surface of the glass.

"Look Annie, I don't have the energy for your bullshit right now, so say what you mean to say or leave..._please_." Truthfully, Eren is just tired - tired of this fucking cleaning duty, tired of the fucking rain, tired of his renegade emotions, and tired of her shitty humor.

Annie remains quiet, and to Eren's scrutiny, stilled in the illusion of philosophical deliberations. He knows that look. It is the look she gave just before her lips upturned into that first alluring smile and offered to teach him - the first time his heart skipped a beat. There is no smile this time.

_Nothing._

Eren returns his attention back to the rusty tank, brows furrowed in agitation as he continues to scrub in vain. "_Tch_...whatever - just go." he snarls. The harsh scratching of the brillo against the aluminum surface reigns over the approaching footsteps.

_"Wha-"_

He gasps as a strong grip pulls him up to his feet by the back of his shirt and turns him around where he comes face to face with her arctic ire - burning with life.

_"You need to learn how to fucking talk to girls."_

Eren's feeble attempt to push her away is smothered when she drags him in by the collar of his shirt - crushing his lips to hers with bruising force.

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_To Be Continued..._

**Sorry once more for the wait. Next chapter definitely wont take as long. **

**Preview for Next chapter - all of the Ereannie feels.  
**

_PS. Excuse my AnniexMina feels...god damn you Euregatto._


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